Samsung Galaxy S6 vs $120 Clone the No 1 S6i – Review & Comparison

No 1 has released their most well built handset to day with the S6i which is a Samsung Galaxy S6 clone. We take a look at the S6i and put it head to head against the real deal. The No1 S6i will cost you $119 and the Galaxy S6 costs $635, you can buy FIVE No 1 handsets for the price of just one Galaxy S6. Let’s take a look at what you aren’t getting when you go for the budget look a like.

Before we dive into the comparison, we want to preface this with the legacy of clone comparison we’ve done of No 1 smarpthones. We’ve checked out the S5 clone and looked at how it stacks up, we’ve also scrutinized the Note 4 copy cat. No 1 has fixed the hardware issues that gave away their budget pricing and clone status. They don’t pretend to be Samsung Galaxy devices, they carry the No 1 band name, but if they did try … I think that they’d fool a lot of people.

If you just want to watch our video review, we’ve got it for you here.

Hardware – Sporting The Same in Hand Feel

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a gorgeous device and carry’s with it the top hardware available on a Smartphone to date. The physical dimensions of the the handset are identical, if you didn’t see the No 1 brand you’d think that it was in fact a Galaxy S6, the tell tale sign on the previous generations was the buttons, they just didn’t feel solid.

No 1 has delivered on the S6i and we’ve got front facing button that is very close to the original, we’ve only got a the tiniest amount of movement on it. The side buttons have a satisfying click and feel solid to use.

No 1 S6i Samsung Galaxy S6

Screen size (inches)

5.1 inch

5.1 inch

Resolution

1280 x 720 pixels

2560 x 1440 pixels

Processor

1.5GHz Octa-core

1.3GHz Quad-core

Processor make

Samsung Exynos 7429 64-bit processor

MediaTek MTK 6582

RAM

3GB

1GB

Internal storage

32/64/128GB

16GB

Expandable storage type

None

None

Dimensions (mm)

152.50 x 77.20 x 10.90

152.50 x 77.20 x 10.90

Weight (g)

170grams

155 grams

Battery capacity (mAh)

2550mAh

2800mAh

Removable battery

No

No

Rear camera

13-megapixel with OIS

13-megapixel

Front camera

5-megapixel

5-megapixel

Operating System

Android 5.0

Android 5.0

Skin

TouchWiz Light

TouchWiz (inspired)

NFC

Yes

Yes

Colours

Blue Topaz, Emerald Green, Ceramic White, Sheer Gold

White & Black

We shot several photos of just the No 1 S6i and thought that we would include them here. We also took the time to do an unboxing and hands on, if you’re looking to check that out, here is a link to the No 1 S6i Unboxing.

Display – Not Your Average $119 Display

It has one of the most stunning AMOLED display’s on the market, but what No 1 has put on to the S6i is a good quality LCD panel. It isn’t as sharp, the color contrast isn’t as brilliant and it isn’t as bright. But the panel doesn’t turn white when you check the viewing angles and over all I’d have to say for the price it’s a sensational display.

If you check the video it’s not as easy to tell that the depth and over all clarity of the photos is superior on the Galaxy S6. This is a real testament to just how good this budget panel is. This is only natural since the S6i has a 1280 x 720 display and the Galaxy S6 has a 2560 x 1440.

Design – Looks and Feels Identical

No 1 has gotten good at paying homage to Samsung, in hand you can tell that it’s a tad heavier but that’s because it’s got a bigger battery. Apart from that in a blind test the only other tell might be that the button on the No1 S6i is a little bit rougher.

Another difference is that it doesn’t have a finer print sensor, previous generations of clones claimed to have one, but it didn’t work. We’re glad to see they’ve dropped the attempt.

Software – TouchWiz Look a Like?! No Problem

TouchWiz isn’t everyone’s favorite, but Samsung’s iteration on the Galaxy S6 but the preloaded programs are actually useful. WeChat, OneDrive and of course the Google Apps but we don’t have the usual Clean Master or other apps that we would consider spam. This is one of the first Chinese handset’s we’ve got reviewed that wasn’t chalk full of random games and other useless apps.

We do like the iteration of TouchWiz, the notification bar is identical and several of the features. As you can see in the hands on video, the gestures aren’t the same, the S6i doesn’t come with the same level of gestures (which can be a good thing because Samsung has a tendency to put in to many.

On interesting add on that No 1 has put in is a quick launcher, it’s not as refined as what we’ve seen on other Chinese handsets, Meizu probably has the more interesting that we’ve reviewed. But you can see that there is quite a bit of functionality packed in, you can drop the notification bar, take a screen cap, control the volume and even turn the handset off. It’s a bit of a swiss army knife feature.

Camera – Half as Good as the Galaxy S6

The camera is the tell tale sign that you’re looking at a budget handset, and going up against the top camera currently on the market is going to be daunting for anyone. No 1 didn’t let us down completely and for a $119 handset, it could be a lot worse. The great thing about the camera on the S6i is that is completely usable and can even take a half decent photo.

Taking a look at the side by side photos the S6i has a 25% narrower field of view, it doesn’t handle back light as well and detail on the photos in less than perfect situations isn’t great.

Galaxy S6 on the Top, No1 S6i on the bottom

The No 1 S6i also doesn’t come with the fancy features on the S6 like 120fps slow motion or the ability to change the shutter speed and aperture. It’s a basic camera that takes an usable photos. The camera takes two seconds to take a photo where as the Galaxy S6 is fast, 0.7 seconds.

Performance – Rocking a MediaTek Quad Core Processor

Not everyone needs a Snapdragon 805 processor, some people want a handset that simply works, comes in at a reasonable price and looks good. If you tweak the No 1, you might get that under it’s hood is a very respectable MediaTek quad-core processor. It’s the MT6582, clocked at 1.3Ghz with 1GB or RAM.

CPUZ & 3D Mark

Geekbench 3

The Galaxy S6 smokes the No1 S6i running it’s Exynos 7420 at 1.5Ghz running 3GB of RAM. The benchmarks aren’t even comparable the 64 bit OctaCore processor is fast and there is no UI lag. The S6i in terms of UI is responsive is acceptable, there aren’t any major stutters but on occasion it does take a second or two longer than I would like to open up apps like email and gallery.

Battery Life – It will last you the Day

Even though the No 1 S6i has a bigger batter at 2800mAh compared to the 2550mAh on the Galaxy S6 it doesn’t has less battery life. Admittedly the battery life on the Galaxy S6 isn’t great, it can drop 20% on a 45 minute commute to work. The S6i is about the same when used heavily, 10% in an hour when checking WhatsApp or Line regularly. I would say that the Galaxy S6 will get you through the day, and the S6i will do the same. The battery does drop rather quickly when using 3G, bluetooth should be turned off since No 1 hasn’t done a good a job as Samsung as optimizing it’s 3G and connectivity processes.

Conclusion – You can buy FIVE S6i for the Price of One Galaxy S6

There is quite a difference between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the No 1 S6i, the display isn’t as good (though the the S6i has a good quality 720p panel), the performance isn’t flagship (but for day to day use it’s acceptable), the battery life is a little less (but if you’re a light user it’ll get you through the day).

What you have to remember is that for the price tag of $119 I think you’re getting more then you’ve paid for. Yes, you’re not getting the same features as the Galaxy S6, but you’ve got Android 5.0 and you can always download a launcher like NOVA if you’re really after a customized experience.

We’ve reviewed our share of Clones and No 1 is the maker that we’ve been most interested in keeping tabs on. They’ve made clear improvements on their previous generation of handsets and they’ve nailed the form factor completely. The issues with below average buttons has been remedied on the S6i and they are using higher quality panels.

If you’re looking for a stylish phone on a budget and aren’t looking for the fastest flagship with the highest specification money can buy and simply want something good looking that takes a usable photo, you might want to consider the No 1 S6i.